EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Women's Swimming Team (2-0, 1-0 ODAC) picked up its second victory in as many days Saturday afternoon as it defeated Bridgewater College, 146-58, in a rout. The Wasps avenged a 64-31 loss to the Eagles on the road last season, which was E&H's only loss during the regular season.
Emory & Henry won all 11 events on the afternoon and broke four school records in the process. The Wasps also went 1-2 in five of the nine individual events including taking the top three places in the 50-yard freestyle. Four events were decided by a quarter second or less as sophomore Nicole Powell (Apex, N.C.) was first in the 800-meter freestyle by just .25 seconds over her opponent from Bridgewater.
Freshman Allison Fowler (Morristown, Tenn.) set a new E&H record in the 200-meter freestyle, swimming a 2:15.27. Fowler won by just .14 seconds while breaking the record which stood for a full calendar year, as it was set in last season's home opener against Ferrum College.
The 50-meter freestyle was another race barely too close to call but between E&H teammates. Sophomore Payton Shirey (Seaford, Del.) beat out freshman Jessica Richardson (Vero Beach, Fla.) by less than a blink of an eye, winning by a margin of six one-hundredths of a second (:28.40 - :28.46). Freshman Michaela Nolte (Hillsborough, N.C.) edged out second place by .11 seconds in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 1:02.49.
In the 100-meter backstroke, Richardson topped the record that freshman Liz Kleveno (Fredericskburg, Va.) set on Friday evening with a swim of 1:10.75. The ink also barely dried on the 100-meter breaststroke record with Nolte clocking a new top time of 1:19.39, besting the old record by nearly four seconds.
After nearly setting a record in the 200-meter freestyle on Friday evening, the Wasps left no doubt in Saturday's final race. The relay of Richardson, Fowler, sophomore Sam Brown (Memphis, Tenn.) and Nolte swam a 1:56.62 to break the school record complete the sweep of the meet.
Emory & Henry will remain at home next Friday afternoon when it hosts Hollins University at 4:00 p.m.
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